Self-starter for aeroplahe-motors



A. W. BACKMAN.

SELF STARTER FOR AERO P ILANE MOTORS. APPLICATION FILED AUGJ. 191s Patented June 17, 1919.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

,4 TTOR/VEYS A. w. BACKMAN/ SELF STARTER FORAEROPLANEMOTORS. APPLICATION FILED AUG.7, 1918.

1 ,307,23 1 Patented June 17, 1919.

WITNESSES 7 INVENTOR Wk amp/y l kfiac/hzz A TTORA/EVS ALBERT WESLEY BAGKMAN, OF LAW r 5:.

COLORADO.

SELF-STARTER FOR AEROPLANE-MOTOBS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 1'7, T919.

I Application filed August 7, 1918. Serial No. M8310.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, ALBERT WESLEY BACK- M-AN, a citizen of -the United States, and a resident of Lamar, in the county of Prowers and State of Colorado, have invented certain I new and useful Improvements in Self-Starters for Aeroplane-Motors, of which the following is a specification.

My invention is an improvement in selfstarters for aeroplane motors, and has for its objectto provide a device of the character specified especially adapted for aeroplane motors for rotating the propeller shaft manually to start the engine, and wherein the shaft may be rotated from the seat.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a side view showing the improved starter in place,

. Fig. 2 is an enlarged'sectional detail of the starting shaft, and

Fig. 3 is a section through the gear'wheel.

The present embodiment of the inven tion is shown in connection with the propeller shaft 1 of an aeroplane 2 of usual. construction, the propeller shaft being driven by the usual motor indicated at 3. A gear wheel 4 is secured to the propeller shaft 1, and it is with the gear wheel that the starting mechanism engages.

The starting mechanism comprises' a shaft 5 which is journaled in av suitable bearing frame 6 rigid with the motor casing at one end, the said frame having roller bearings 7 for engagement by the shaft. Referring to Fig. 2'it will be noted that the frame is substantially yoke shaped, one of the arms being secured to the motor casing and the other being detachably connected with the body of the frame.

The bearing in the detachable frame has also a thrust ball bearing 8 at the end of the shaft. This shaft 5 has a threaded portion 9, upon which is mounted a pinion 10, the hub of the pinion having a thread engaging the threaded portion of the shaft, and said inion is adapted to engage the gear. wheel l when it is moved in one direction with respect to the shaft.

A reel 11 is keyed to the shaft adjacent to the'pinion '10 and a flexible member 12 as for instance a wire cable winds upon the reel. A coil spring 13 secured at one end to the reel and at the other to the frame 6 normally acts to turn the reel in a direction opposed to that in which it is turned by the flexible member.

The turnin of the shaft 5 by the unwindlng of them Is moves the pinion 10 longi tudinally-of the shaft toward the gear wheel 4 and into mesh with the said gear wheel, and thus the propeller' shaft is rotated. When the cable is released the spring 13 rewlnds the cable, and at thesame time moves the pinion out of mesh with the gear wheel. A governor is provided for controlling the movement of the shaft.

This governor comprises a sleeve 14 secured upon the shaft, and a sleeve 15 mounted to, slide upon the shaft, a coil spring 16 being arranged between the sleeves for normally holding the sleeve 15 away from the sleeve 14. Weighted levers 17' are pivoted to the sleeve 14 and extend toward the sleeve,

15, and they are connected intermediate their ends to the sleeve 15 by links 18. In use, the motion of the shaft is steadied in both directions, the governor acting to control the movement of the shaft under the influence of'the cable, and under the influence of the spring.

The flexible memberLZ passes from th reel 11 to one end of a lever 19 which is pivoted as indicated at 20 in convenient position for the aviator to engage the other end with his foot in order to start the en- 'ne. A grip 21 is also connected to the rst named end of thelever 19 by means of a flexible member 22, and the engine thus may be started by the hand or by the foot as may be desired. e In practice, the cable 12 is quickly drawn from the reel 11, thus trimming the threaded shaft 5, and the gear 10 because of its inertia will be turned with respect to the shaft 5, running on the screw threads 9 until it engages the fixed collar 1 and sion on the cable 12 the spring 13 will tend to rotate the shaft 5 in the opposite direction. Meanwhile, the turning of the shaft 4: has started the motor, and because of the inertia of the shaft 5 and connected parts the Wheel v10 tends to move back into the position of Fig. 2, where it is out of mesh with the wheel 4. The action of the spring 13 also assists in holding the shaft 5 against movement by the motor shaft 1. The governor acts as a fly wheel to insure the disengagement of the parts in case the motor does notstart. In case of non-start of the llllll motor, the pinion 10 will be held by the gear wheel 4 and the movement of the shaft 5 under the infiuenceof the governor will move the pinion longitudinally of the shaft. The pinion is prevented from movement beyond engaging position with the gear Wheel t by the fixed collar 14 of the governor.

I claim:

1. A starter for internal combustion e'ngines, comprising in combination with the propeller shaft having a gear Wheel secured thereto, a shaft arranged adjacent to the propeller shaft and having a threaded portion, a pinion on the threaded portion, a reel secured to the shaft, a flexible member Winding on the reel and adapted to turn the reel'and the shaft in a direction to move the piniontoward the gear wheel and to rotate the gear Wheel to start the engine when the flexible member is unwound from the reel, a spring for rewinding the flexible member,

and a governordriven bytheshaft in both,

directions.

2., A starter for internal combustionengines, comprising in combination with the gear Wheel for rotating the crank shaft of the engine, a second shaft having a threaded portion and a pinion on the threaded portion mounted to be moved longitudinally by the threaded portion into and out of engagement with the gear wheel, manually operative means for rotating the shaft in one direction, a spring for returning the shaft, and a governor driven by the shaft and including a fixed member for engagement by thepinion to hold it from movement. beyond' engaging position with the gear wheel.

ALBERT WESLEY BACKMAN.

Witnesses:

EDWARD H. APPLEGATE, ELMER J. WAGNER. 

